Living the life forced upon you

Published September 6, 2002 8:58PM (EDT)

"Freedom is what you do with what's been done to you."
-- Jean-Paul Sartre

From the beginning you are the victim of circumstance. You're born, kicking and screaming, into an unknown family. As a child, you soak up influences that mold your mind in certain ways. When you finally get a drivers' license and move out of the house, you think you're free -- but you marry someone who looks like your mother and drinks like your father. By the time you figure out who you are or what you want, a life has already been forced upon you. But it's never too late to change. Although you can't begin again from scratch, you can make a splendid ragout from the mishmash of damaged goods in your cupboard.

I choose how to live a life I didn't choose.

Reprinted with permission from "Daily Afflictions" by Andrew Boyd, published by W.W. Norton. To order a copy, click here


By Brother Void

Brother Void is the alter ego of Andrew Boyd. More information about Brother Void and his book, "Daily Afflictions," can be found at his Web site.

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